Roller skate



' Dec; 13, 1949 F. J. WAGNER 2,490,850

ROLLER SKATE Filed Feb. 11, 1948 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1949 ROLLER SKATE Frank .I.- WagnerpFranklin Square,N. Y., assignor of one-ha,lt'to ;Garroll Bierman Franklin:

Square,- N. Y..

Application February 11, 1948, Serial-N0. 7,662."

6 Claims.-. (01. 2801-14128) Thiss-invent-ion relatesxto roller skatesx in:..gen,.- eralz-and more-particu1arly to skates suitablefor. performers when. executing intricate freer-style and jumping acrobatics.

With:skates heretofore in: usegespecially when executing-freestyle and jumping acrobatics; during {WhiChz the; axle sh of; thetruck were required not-only to incline iradially relative :to the longitudinal: axis-of; the skate but also angularly relative-to. the-vertical: axis "30f, the skate, control of= the :skate orskates-mas.-temporarily lost by socalledsub-curves resulting-when the truck did notpromptly return t normalt. According-to the present invention; delicate adjustments. can. be. madeito;suitz-the;apowerwand-weight of the par.-

ticular skater and yet insure-..return;of theztruck:

back tenormal position: immediately after the skate. .haddeft. the supporting base, such, as the.

floorof the rink, stage.--on thelike, so.=.thatv the;

performermay have iperfectcontrol of his skates at:.al1.times.

These; and'other. features; capabilities; and ad vantages of the present invention. Willi-appears from the s subjoinedlidetailed description. of one specific embodiment; thereof I illustrated. in .theaccompanying drawings, 1 in 1 which Fig.4 isxaiplan viewa Fig. 2.;is. a side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation.

Fi'gAisa-sectidnzomthe line 44 of Fig, 3.

In the embodiment shown, the skate consists essentially of the'bar =l prefe'rably-an aluminum casting formingthe hanger.v or, frame .towhich are secured the metal heel plate} and metalsole plate 3. Preferably disposed as indicated, centrally of the area where-the weight from the heel of the skater is transmitted to the barel andcentrally of the area where the.=weight:of-.-the sole cfgtheskater is transmittedto'the bar, there are secured the bearing blocks 5- and 6,; respectively, the,.blocks 5 and 6 consisting essentially, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, of blocks, hexagonal in outer contour, provided with a stud l screw threadedly connected to the bar I, and a conical recess 8 with a blunt apex. To the front of the block 5 and to the rear of the block 6, there are screw threadedly connected to the bar I, the king pins 9 and 10, respectively, which in the present instance are threaded about half way down from the upper end as shown and each provided with a diminished threaded lower projection, see the projection H for the pin 9. The block 5 and king pin 9 constitute a rear pair and the block 6 and king pin In a front pair of elements to which the iront and rear trucks are connected. The front 2 andrear trucks --aresubstantiallyidentical; and therefore the illustration in Figr 4-"of 'the rear truck-and description of thesame willalso suf: fice'forthe front truck.

Each of these trucksconsistsessentially of a' plate 53' having an outer enlarged portion l4 and an inner-diminished "portion -15,- the-outer enlarged portion l4 havinga horizontallyex-tend ing opening lfi-to fixedly-receive the axle H, [8 fo'rtheroller skate-wheels; such as the wheels |9 forthe-rearaxle 1 1 andthe-wheels Zll-for the'frontaxle- H3} The enlarged-portion'- I4 isalso provided with a-smoothvertically'extending opening .2 i and the diminished-portion 1 5 with the :smoothvertically 1 extendingmpening 22;

In theopening 2| thereis slidably=mounted the stud 23-of thefioating-pin lid-which has-a collar 25 and a conical-upper'end 26.1 The conical upper end 26 in=dimension is much-smaller than the. conical recess-8=sothat it may freely rock therein while the apex of -the-;uppe1"end26'en-- gagesnthe apex of therecess 8.- Between the collanZ 5.:andthe upper face of the-enlarged por-- tionz l dithere :is mounted onthe stud 23 'the main weight. receiving .and: cushioning: rubber :washer 21. which in. the present instanceis provided with the cap 28 disposed betw.een -the-collar-25 and thewasheril. :to..:protect: the washer 2l:from mushro oming.-.

The kingpins 9-.:and..lllaresecured in position:

' inthe .bar 1| by thealock nuts. 2a'and3ll, respec--- tively, and serve in the present instance not only to anchorthetrucks in placeibut also as stabilizers. As-an instance, the smooth part of the.

v kin pin 9;!!! isslidably mounted in the opening 22. The upper face-of the diminished portion I5; is recessed to receivegthe lower end of the large. rubber washer 3| whichis mounted onthe king-. pin 9,1 3;.- The upper end of the washer. 3! is pref! erably provided with-a cap}! which is disposed: between the washer-3|: and thestabilizer bar 33; through which the king pin 9, I0 extends. Above the stabilizer bar 33, the king pin 9, I0 is provided with the large adjusting nut 34 which cooperates with a lock nut, such as the shake-proof lock nut 35 at the lower end of the king pin 9, ID to compress the washer 3| and in turn to adjust the yieldability and elasticity of return to normal position of the truck associated therewith characterized by the plate l3 and associated parts. From the foregoing it will be seen that since the engagement of the conical end 26 with the apex of the conical recess 8, constitutin the fulcrum, is disposed between the axle I1, l8 and the king pin 9, I 0, respectively, that the weight of the skater will never be transmitted to the rubber washer 3|, that the weight of the skater will only be received by the rubber washer 21, and that in turn the washer 31 will only act as a stabilizer which will quickly resume its normal shape after distortion, to return the truck characterized by the plate 13 to normal position after a skate has left the ground, and that the reluctance to distortion can be adjusted to suit the power and weight of the performer. In other words, the greater the power and weight of the performer, the more easily with a given tension on the washer 31 will the distortion be effected, so that the tension resulting in a greater reluctance to distortion must ordinarily be increased as the power and/or weight of the performer increases.

The stabilizer bar 33 extending as it does from one king pin 9 to the other king pin 10 and being anchored in position to each kin pin will not rotate with the washer 3| and therefore cannot afiect the adjustment of the adjusting nut 34 after it has once been set. In other words, the

bar 33 serves as a buffer to protect the adjusting nut 35 from bein disturbed once it has been set, no matter how vigorous the distorting forces nor with What rapidity the distorting forces are transmitted to the washer 3|.

The lock nut 35 at the lower end of the king pin 9, li! facilitates ready assembly and removal of the truck characterized by the plate 13 and associated parts since it will only be necessary to remove the nut 35, and the entire truck characterized by the plate I3 and associated parts up to the large adjusting nut 34 can be readily and with facility lifted from the king pin 9, 10.

Preferably as shown, a washer about one-eighth inch thick by three-quarters of an inch in diameter is mounted on the king pin 9 and interposed between the lock nut 35 and the lower face of the diminished portion l of the plate I3, the washer 36 serving both as a wearing element between the lock nut 35 of the plate 13 and also to effectively cover the opening 22 so that the washer 36 will support the lock nut 35, with the washer 36 in turn resting on the lower face of the plate l3 surrounding the opening 22.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a roller skate, the combination of a hanger having two downwardly extending blocks with conical recesses therein, two king pins between said blocks, each king pin disposed adjacent to one of said bloclm, a pair of wheel trucks, each truck freely movable and slidably mounted on one of said king pins and rockably mounted in its adjacent conical recess, a stabilizer bar extendin from one king pin to the other, a stabilizing rubber washer mounted on each king pin and disposed between each truck and said bar, and an adjusting nut on each king pin engaging said bar and functioning to transmit the required tension on its associated rubber washer.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which a floating pin is slidably mounted on each truck and provided with a collar and a conical upper end, a rubber washer mounted on said floating pin and interposed between said collar and the truck, each conical end engaging the apex of a conical recess and enabling the truck thereby to rock relative to said hanger.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which each wheel truck has a wheel carrying axle and each floating pin is disposed between its associated king pin and its associated axle, with the axles disposed at the outer ends of the trucks to enable the weight of the skater to be received by the rubber washer on said floating pin and to enable the rubber washer on said king pin to stabilize or return the truck to normal position after a distortion force has ended.

4. In a roller skate, the combination of a hanger having a block extending down therefrom and provided with a conical recess, a king pin fixed to said hanger, a floating pin rockably engaging said conical recess, a truck slidably mounted on said floating pin and slidably and rockably mounted on said king pin, a resilient washer mounted on said king pin, and an adjustlug nut for regulating the tension on said washer and thereby the reluctance of said truck to rock relative to said king pin.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 in which the floating pin has a collar and an upper conical end rockably engaging the conical recess in said block, and a rubber washer is mounted on said floating pin and interposed between said truck and said collar to receive the weight of the skater.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the truck has a wheel carrying axle and the floating pin is disposed between said axle and said king pin to facilitate transmitting the weight of the skater to the rubber washer on said floating pin.

FRANK J. WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 241,270 Akin May 10, 1881 331,192 Flora et al Nov. 24, 1885 2,310,683 Enley Feb. 9, 1943 2,424,072 Allred July 15, 1947 

